


Next time I see you, remind me not to talk to you.

by werepope (quiteparadise)



Series: 2014 Advent Calendar for a Filthy-Minded Athiest [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Drinking, F/M, Holidays, Language, M/M, Office Party
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-01
Updated: 2014-12-01
Packaged: 2018-02-27 19:13:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2703329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quiteparadise/pseuds/werepope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Too much punch at someone else's office party.  Those are the kinds of decisions he's making tonight.</p><p> </p><p>Advent calendar challenge: office party.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Next time I see you, remind me not to talk to you.

There will be free booze.

Zayn considers it a benefit of working an entry level job for a soulless corporation that he doesn't have to worry about holiday office parties. You don't get a party when you serve coffee for a living. You get a ten dollar gift card as a bonus and a guaranteed pass to fuck off for a whole day while the store is closed. You couldn't ask for more.

Niall works in an actual office with real life cubicles and, in an attempt to make their faceless employees feel like valuable cogs in the machine, his company throws a party for the whole staff. Because Niall is a positive and generally nice person, he doesn't see this as a way to make him put in face time with people he wouldn't associate with outside of work. He sees it as an opportunity to hang out and have a good time with people he doesn't get to chat with during the day.

There will be free booze.

He also sees this as an opportunity to convince Sophia, the pretty girl two cubicles down who he went on single lackluster date with, that she should give him another chance and go on a second, perhaps less boring, date. And since she has so far been disinclined to do so when asked, Niall has decided that making her jealous is the way to go.

"You do realize I'm a guy, right?" Zayn doesn't think is needs pointing out particularly, but it warrants being mentioned, at least.

Niall waves him off. "You're pretty enough to make anyone jealous. C'mon. There will be free booze!"

There is indeed free booze.

There is also Sophia, who is lovely and long-limbed and sort of manages to pout while she smiles. Zayn can respect that. And he can see why Niall's interested in getting a second date, too, what with her low voice and big dark eyes and the way she stands even with him in her stiletto heels. He doesn't think that the jealousy angle works, no matter how pretty he is, but an hour into the party both Niall and Sophia are nowhere to be seen.

Niall's disappearing act is amusing at first. Then ten minutes runs into thirty and it becomes less amusing and more irritating. Niall has officially ditched him. At his own office party. Where Zayn knows absolutely fucking no one.

Zayn's taking back every nice thought he's ever had about Niall, one by one, until the jerk shows his face again. And he won't even consider thinking nice things about him again until he's got cab fare home in hand.

Nothing to do about it now except have another drink and stew, so that's exactly what he does. He refills his plastic glass with punch – too sweet but heavy on the rum and therefore acceptable. He makes passably pleasant conversation with a couple of ladies while nibbling on a biscuit. He is not sad to see them go in favor of a man about his age who looks about as pleased to be there and hits the punch bowl with just as much determination.

Zayn offers him a biscuit.

"Cheers," he says. "You're here with Niall, yeah?" Some of the edible glitter comes off and spills down the front of his jumper. Zayn doesn't mention it.

"Yeah."

The man nods. He finishes the biscuit and brushes crumbs off his fingers before holding his hand out. "Liam."

"Zayn."

"Is he–?"

"Snogging some girl in a supply closet, I think. He disappeared."

"Ah." Liam nods again. He looks at the table of refreshments, the carefully arranged plates of biscuits and brownies pawed through, contaminated with crumbs and cocktail napkins. Thinking deep thoughts or eyeing up a chocolate orange. "Sophia?"

Zayn shrugs. He doesn't want to be the one to blame if Niall comes in to work on Monday and his cubicle is full of pingpong balls. "I don't really know anyone," he says. But maybe he looks more careful than he should, because Liam goes rather stiff and frowny. His jaw looks very nice when he clenches it.

"I'm not gonna– I gave him the okay. Not that Soph needed– I mean. It wasn't my place to give either of them permission," he says, leaning toward Zayn a little in what might be beseeching. Or drunkenness, maybe? Hard to tell. "She can make her own decisions. But Niall wanted to make sure there wouldn't be hard feelings if he asked her out, and I told him no. Yes. I – I told him he could do what he wanted."

Zayn refills his cup and makes a "go on" motion. "He came to you in friendship."

"He just wanted to give me a heads-up. We broke up a while ago. Soph and me. He was just being polite."

Zayn holds the ladle up in offer to refill Liam's cup as well. Liam smiles at him, distracted still and definitely drunk but nice to look at all the same. And hell, maybe the jealousy thing didn't work out with Niall but he'll give it a go with Liam.

"Want to make her jealous?" he asks. He cocks his hip against the edge of the table and leans. He gets frosting on his cuff. Liam doesn't mention it.

"She's not really… here. At the moment."

Zayn shrugs. "Could be at any time."

They finish their punch and Liam leads them to a supply closet where he knocks, just in case it's occupied. Liam holds onto his elbow until they're inside, and then he's got his hands full of a whole lot more. Zayn pushes him up against the door and smiles against his mouth and confesses, for the sake of at least partial disclosure, that he only came to this party for the booze but that Liam's an unexpected bonus.

They make out for what feels like a long time. A long ramp-up to what will probably amount to a whole lot of nothing except jaw ache and some stubble burn. Zayn's in no rush to break it up, though. Liam's mouth feels even better than it looks and he makes this really wonderful sort of growly noise when Zayn palms his ass.

Zayn's going to try and get that noise out of him again when the door opens. Liam has to grab onto the jamb to keep from falling back out into the hall. And they both just sort of stare dumbly at Sophia, who really is very lovely, make-up pristine still and hair a long sleek curtain. She doesn't look as if she's been snogging with anyone at all.

Liam grips Zayn a bit more tightly around the waist.

Sophia closes the door.

Zayn uses a box of cleaner to get a boost up and climb Liam like a tree.


End file.
